Awareness
by Midnight Mustang
Summary: It was over twenty five years ago that Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the 74th Hunger Games. The next year was when we all lost. Now we're being punished for someone else's crimes, but maybe we aren't as abandoned as I think we are.
1. Bitterness

AN: I own nothing, except for Holly Persimmons and Vincent Medlar and anyone that was not in or mentioned in the Hunger Games series.

This may be slightly AU but since we don't know exactly what happened to District 12, I'm using creative license here. Work with me, people!

This probably will stay a speculative oneshot unless I really get an idea of how to continue it. I probably will, however, come back and edit this as I was too lazy to before I uploaded it.

Holly's POV

It was a little under twenty five years ago that District 12 was nearly flattened by the Capitol of Panem.

It was a little over twenty four years ago when my parents, along with my best friend Vincent Medlar's parents, were forced to move to District 12 from District 11. They weren't the only ones. Many people were forced to repopulate and rebuild District 12 after the bombing.

They were known as the Refugees, although it seemed strange to many to call them that as they were moving _into _the disaster zone. They were given training on how to build first, and once the District began to resemble anything livable, the mines were reopened and we were forgotten.

Well, not completely. Every year, even during Reconstruction as it was called, District 12 was required to turn in Tributes for the Hunger Games.

The Peacekeepers are always sure to tell us it's to remind us how we are always subject to the Capitol's rule. Always.

I think it's to punish us for someone else's crimes. Things we had nothing to do with and no control over.

Bitter? Why yes, I am.

Every day we go to school to have coal mining and Capitol propaganda shoved down our throats. We are told how puny our District is, how insignificant, and how we are only here because the Capitol lets us.

Every year we watch the Tributes from our District get killed either in the first couple of minutes or so tantalizingly close to the end. The years we lose early are form obvious lack of training; the years we get so close are by obvious manipulation of the arena by the Gamemakers to tug and pull on our heartstrings.

And it all started over twenty five years ago.

The year before the fateful Quarter Quell, when Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark were the Tributes for District 12 and headed to the Capitol along with their mentor Haymitch Abernathy.

The year when they both won.

And we all lost.

Because the next near they went back again. The starcrossed lovers who were so into each other they couldn't bother to know what might happen if they failed at overthrowing the Capitol. What would happen if suddenly the Capitol had been made fools of again and again by one District until the others caught on.

We really don't know exactly what happened. Some say they made it out and are now in the ruins of District 13 while others say they were abducted by the Capitol and executed in secret or are still being held captive. But no one really cares anymore. We have more pressing matters.

Like living until tomorrow.

I blame them. They abandoned us. They threw us to Capitol and left us defenseless. They were our defense, and now they're gone.

Now we are subjected to watching the children of our District die every year. They have no mentor. They have nothing. All they have are whatever skills they naturally possess, which usually aren't much.

The Hunger Games are only chance to prove to the Capitol that District 12 cannot be kept in the ashes.

And the odds are never in our favor. They never will be.

*****  
It is this twisted history that leads me to here.

Here happens to be a tree in the woods, as high up as I can get, as far away from District 12 as I can possibly be without actually leaving it.

Vincent is with me today. Apparently, probably twenty five years ago, the woods were off limits, but that was before everyone was required to have tracking chips put in. I think I probably would have to sneak into the woods if that were the way now, because there is no way my sanity could survive without these few hours of peace and simulated freedom. I think Vinny thinks so, too.

We come here so often that you would think that we would automatically notice any changes in this place, but the hollow in the trees looked natural, like one an owl would use. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary at first until we were leaving.

Vinny saw it first. "Holly, was the hollow there yesterday?"

I stopped walking. "Uh, no, I don't think so."

We exchanged glances and did the only thing any person with a reasonable amount of curiosity would do. We reached in the hollow.

On the outside it may look natural, but on the inside it was way to smooth to be naturally occurring.

Also, most hollows don't contain several letters and videotapes, either.

Together, Vinny and I looked towards the sky. The sun was setting, but we would about an hour before it was completely gone, so we sat down and read the first letter.

_To whoever has the brains to find this:_

_I'm assuming you live in District 12 and that you probably need help. The whole District needs help, and you're probably one of the few people that can do something about it. I'm going to tell you how. _

_A Tribute needs to win the Hunger Games. A Tribute from District 12. Because they're the only ones who will get to have the District 12 mentor for the Quarter Quell. This year, there will be a mentor. _

_Before the Tributes leave, it will be you and this letter. _

_Once they get on the train, we are not sure who it will be, but there will be a mentor. _

_In the circumstances for the Quarter Quell, the Capitol is required to present a mentor, especially for this Quarter Quell. We can't tell you exactly why, because we are not sure ourselves, but there will be a mentor. _

_You're job is to make sure the two Tributes are prepared. Give them this letter, the videos, and make them practice with weapons. There should be some still in the woods if you look. There should at least be a set of bow and arrows in a hollowed log about two hundred feet from here to the south. _

_Please, please, listen to this and take it to heart. I tried my best twenty five years ago and failed. Don't let these tributes make the same mistake. _

_The Capitol will try and make the Tributes fail. That is punishment for my crimes. The Capitol needs to stop punishing District 12 and the only way they will is if they have to show the people of the Capitol what they did to it. _

_The people of the Capitol are its biggest weakness; tell the Tributes to exploit it in any way they can. _

_Stay focused and keep the Tributes focused on staying alive. That was my mistake. I thought I could rally the Tributes instead of having to kill them, and now you are all paying the consequence. _

_Please forgive me for my crimes; you would be the only one that will. Even my best friend, Gale, still knows it's my fault and even if he says he has forgiven me, he can't. Not until it's over. _

_So, please, try and make it over. _

_Once a Tribute has won, then they should start pulling on the Capitol's heartstrings. There will be more guidance from us after that._

_Burn this letter after the Tributes read it._

_~Katniss Everdeen_

Vinny and I looked at each other. There was no way; she had been taken into custody by the Capitol, right? Or she was far away in the smoldering ruins of District 13? But everything kind of made sense in a strange way. The writer certainly sounded sincere.

"We should. . . We should do it," I said.

"What, help the Tributes? Well, no duh."

"No." I shook my head. "Be the Tributes. We could volunteer."

I saw the horror reach his eyes. "Holly, this was probably written by a sick person trying to mess with us."

"No one in the District has the tools to make a hollow this smooth. Besides, we can't exactly tell someone else about this; the Peacekeepers would hear."

"You're right." He sighed. "what are the videos?"

The first one said: _50__th__ Hunger Games. Winner: Haymitch Abernathy._

"They never show any of the Quarter Quells, do they?" I asked. Vinny shook his head.

The next one said _74__th__ Hunger Games. Winners: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark._

"They don't show that one either. And I bet the next one is-"

"The 75th?" Vinny guessed.

"Yep."

"Nope."

"What?" I asked confused.

"It doesn't have a label."

"I guess we'll just have to watch it then."

We stared at each other.

"Holly, you do realize that we're going into the arena, right?"

"No, I thought we were sending your dad's goat. Of course we're both going in!"

"Then only one of us is coming out."

Then I got it. My eyes watered and I wrapped my arms around Vinny.

Vinny and I hugged each other close and we silently vowed to do the one thing Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen refused to do.

We were giving up our friendship, and maybe even love, too, for the good of our families, our District, and all of the Districts of Panem.


	2. Going Back

AN: I own only the characters not in the original Hunger Games series.

I have decided to continue this story, but here's a general warning: I tend to get writer's block and stop writing stories for several months at a time.

You've been warned.

Also, if any of you watch Avatar: The Last Airbender, I have a fic I'm writing for that as well.

Holly's POV

I woke up the next morning with a baffling feeling of dread. At first I thought it was because of the Reaping, but then I realized that that wasn't for a month or two. Then I realized that not only would Vinny and I begin to watch the videos that we had found in the tree, but the card announcing the circumstances for the Quarter Quell.

Of course, that wouldn't be till later tonight. I still had the whole day to do whatever I needed.

Which, unfortunately, included watching the videos of past Hunger Games.

I, along with just about everyone in District 12, hated watching the Hunger Games. Only a truly sick person would enjoy watching twenty four kids being forced to fight each other to the death.

So, basically, today was personally crafted to be a personal nightmare.

I rolled out of my bed and got dressed. It was freezing outside, and looked like it might snow, which made me marginally happier. It was much easier to warm a house up than it was to cool it down.

I walked through the streets of what used to be called the Seam. It used to be the poorest part of the district but now all of District 12 was stuck in the same situation.

According to the people who remembered the old District 12, things were actually better, economically wise. There weren't too many people that died of starvation anymore, mostly due to the fact that the forest was no longer surrounded by an electrical fence. People didn't need to go far into the woods to find berries and other edible plants.

Not many people hunted, though.

Vinny and I were the only people who ventured far into the woods. I guess in the eyes of the Capitol that made us the highest flight risk, but with the tracking chips it wasn't like we could go far. We might get about a quarter of a mile away before we were hunted down as prey and killed as fugitives.

I left a note on the table in the main room saying that I had gone over to Vinny's house and would be back in time for the reading of the card. I then left my house, making sure to bring my very beat up jacket with me.

My jacket was a deep green color and I had had it for years. It had been huge when I first got it, back when I was nine. At fifteen, it had just now begun to fit me right. I had a feeling I wouldn't be growing out of it either, as most of the female members of my family stopped growing at around fifteen. I sincerely hoped so, because this jacket had been a gift from my older brother, who had died during a mine accident about two years ago.

It had started snowing. The snow always made District 12 look happier, because it hid the coal dust and other reminders of the failed rebellion. It made it look like good things could happen. Until it turned black from the coal dust, that is.

The walk to Vinny's house usually took me five minutes, but it could take me ten if I was feeling lazy. Today I was in a hurry, and got there in five.

Vinny had the door open before I had reached it and ushered me inside. It was warm inside and I quickly took off my jacket before I roasted in it.

We had decided on going to Vinny's house because his parents would be gone all day at the mine while my mother would be home all day. She only worked five days a week at the tailor's.

"Hey," he said gloomily.

"How's it going?" I attempted to say with some cheer, but I failed.

"Let's just get it over with," he said, and hit the play button on the VCR.

The picture was grainy, but we were able to see clearly enough to know that they were showing the drawing of the card. Soon the Reapings began and we watched a horrid number of kids being lined up to die. Haymitch Abernathy is called, and even though I had heard many rumors about, it is the first time I actually get a glimpse of one of the people responsible for our district's suffering.

We sit and watch the replays of the Games with the same numbness we watch all the Hunger Games. We watch as alliances are made, are broken, are ended along with the many Tributes. Before I know it, Haymitch is fighting a losing battle with another Tribute, standing by the edge of the Arena. We watch as the axe flys into the abyss only to be thrown back into the head of his attacker and Haymitch Abernathy is crowned the winner of the 50th Hunger Games.

Vinny and I make no comment as he switches out the tape for one of the 74th Hunger Games. We watch as the tributes, and get our first glimpse of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the two most responsible for everything our lives have been.

No one talks about the fact that Katniss saves her younger sister anymore. It is a detail, while affecting my image of her, has been lost to time.

Peeta was chosen the way most Tributes were. Soon it was showing the opening ceremonies.

I had to admit that Peeta and Katniss looked good. They stood out from the crowd, so it as obvious that they would have lots of sponsors.

And their scores were ridiculously high. An eleven? Really? They must have been really generous that year, because a little girl got a seven, higher than some Careers. I hate to be cynical, but she couldn't have lasted more than an hour without being nailed down as any easy kill to attract sponsors.

I realized that I was going to have to be cynical if I truly meant to go into the Arena. I couldn't trust anyone. Except Vinny. We were going to have to do everything in our power to make sure one of us was the last one standing.

I was fairly surprised at how the Hunger Games went. Of course, I knew next to nothing about it, simply that Katniss and Peeta competed and both won because they both almost died or something.

But as I watched I had to admit that I probably wouldn't have done a thing different. Katniss used her shooting abilities to her advantage, and Rue actually seemed like a decent ally, especially when she knew about those leaves. Peeta, on the other hand, seemed to stay alive by pure luck and the skill of others. Though he did a good job at disguising himself. Still, he would have died anyway, without Katniss. It seemed to me she was the real important member of that duo.

The berries. I could see now why they never showed that on the replays of past Hunger Games. Ha! I had to hand it to those two, they really knew how to push the Capitol's buttons. They would have been furious at having to let two people survive. It showed that there was a way to defeat the Capitol. They could be outsmarted. If they could be outsmarted, then they could go down.

I began to believe that our plan might work. We might be able to win the Hunger Games. We might be able to defeat the Capitol.

We might survive.


End file.
